Now it's time for government of India to act: BJP

May 02, 2011 17:03 IST

Terming the elimination of Osama bin Laden as a confirmation that Pakistan remains the "epicentre of global terror", Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said India must ensure that those responsible for the 26/11 terrorist attacks must be handed over to it.

While Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj in her post on Twitter.com called Laden 'humanity's enemy number one', BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said he (Laden) was the most visible and dangerous face of global jihadi terror.

"We demand that all the terrorists responsible for terror attacks from across the border must be handed over to India. It is a litmus test for Pakistan. The government of India must acknowledge this fact in all future talks with Pakistan," Prasad said.

He said, "He was killed in Pakistan, almost in the backyard of its capital, Islamabad. This is the final confirmation of the hard fact that Pakistan remains the epicentre of global terror where terrorism and terrorists both are allowed to be encouraged and given shelter."

He further said that India is entitled to insist that perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai attack must be handed over.

"We have been saying that Pakistan gives shelter to terrorists to attack India. Those who conspired in the Mumbai attack are still in safe sanctuaries. Pakistan government has stopped taking any action against them," said Prasad.

On US not informing Pakistan about its operations against Laden, he said, "For the US, Pakistan is a valuable ally, the fact that it did not share campaign against terror with Pakistani establishment is surprising. US should reflect on it."

BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the fact that Osama was found in Pakistan demonstrates that the country is a "safe haven for terrorism" and "a factory of terrorism", and said this should be a matter of concern for the world.

Describing Osama as the "chairman of the factory of terrorism", Naqvi said a large number of terrorists who have "come out of this factory are still free and need to be eliminated".

The BJP leader noted that terrorists wanted by India like the 1993 blast mastermind Dawood Ibrahim are still in Pakistan and should immediately be handed over, failing which India should take strong measures.